Artificial jewel



R. SHAND.

ARTIFICIAL JEWEL.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ue.2. 1920. 1,406,502, Patented Feb. 14, 1922'.

H i s Attorney.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT SHAND, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRICCOMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ARTIFICIAL JEWEL.

Specification of letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

Application filed August 2, 1920. Serial No. 400,699.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, ROBERT SnAND, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lynn, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts,

"have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Jewels,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of artificial jewels, such asare used for the hearing supports of delicate instruments.

Jewels made from a vitreous material such as glass have been usedheretofore. These jewels, however, have had the disadvantage that theydid not have uniformity of shape and dimensions; further, the process ofmanufacture used was expensive and hardly practicable. It is the mainobject of my invention to manufacture efliciently jewels of vitreousmaterial, such as glass. To this end I employ a punch, appropriatelyshaped so that it not only cuts the jewel out of ma- "*terial previouslyrendered plastic by heat, but also forms during the same punching operation the bearing surface therein.

The mode of operation of my invention may be understood from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 shows the apparatus that may be used forpracticing my invention; Fig. 2' is an enlarged view showing how thepunch acts to form the jewel; and Fig. 3 shows the completed artificialjewel properly supported in the jewel cup.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, I have shown more or lessdiagrammatically a work bench 11 which is adapted to support theoperating parts of a press 12 which may be used to practice myinvention. In this case I show an ordinary foot pedal 13 by means ofwhich the punching operation may be performed. A rod 16 made of glass orother vitreous material, previously rendered plastic, such as by theapplication of heat, is made use of in the punching operation. Thispunching opera tion forces the vitreous material through an aperture 14located in the table 15, preferably made of metal. The vitreous material16 may be held on the table 15 by the hand of the operator or by anyother appropriate means. The tool or punch 17 used for forcmg theplastic material 16 through the aperture 14 has a shape adapted to shearthe plast1c material and to form the jewel at the same time. Thefinished jewel 18 as it drops through the aperture 14 has the shapeshown in F g. 3. It is to be noted that the cutting portion of the punch17 comprises a beveled edge 19 which so shapes the jewel that it has abeveled surface at its outer circumference. The punch 17 also has aportion 20 which serves to form the bearing surface of the ewel, in thiscase shown as a cupped surface 21, formed in the surface of the jewel18, and adapted to support the pivot shaft. It is readily seen that by asingle punching operation there are two simultaneous acts performed,that of forcing the material through the aperture 14 and of forming abearing surface. After the punching operation, the jewel is allowed tocool. When the cooling is complete, the jewel is ready for use.

This process of manufacturing artificial jewels has the advantage thatit is extremely simple and that it produces a great number of jewels ofuniform quality and shape. The shape of the bearing surface may bevaried at will by appropriately varyin the shape of the punch 17. Inpractice it as actually been found that the jewels formed by this methodhave a bearing surface which does not need to be ground or polished inany Way.

WVhile I have shown in the accompanying drawings one embodiment of myinvention, I do not wish to be limited thereto, but aim to embrace inthe appended claims all modifications falling fairly within the scope ofmy invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is,

1. The process of making jewels from a vitreous material, which consistsin rendering said material plastic, forcing said material through anaperture by a punching operation, forming simultaneous y with saidoperation, a bearing surface on the material 100 being forced throughthe aperture, and allowing said material to cool.

2. The process of making jewels from a vitreous material, which consistsin heating 5 said material to render it plastic, punching said materialto force the jewel through an aperture, forming simultaneously with thisoperation, a depression on the upper surface of said jewel for the pivotshaft, and allowing said material to cool. 10 In Witness whereof I havehereunto set my hand this 30th day of July, 1920.,

ROBERT SHAND.

